Building Technologies Office Announces $6.4M to Advance Building Technologies Innovations

March 7, 2013

In support of the Obama Administration’s all-out- all-of-the-above approach to American energy, the Energy Department’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) today announced the availability of $6.4M to catalyze the development of new energy efficient building technologies. This initiative from BTO’s Emerging Technologies (ET) program will provide support to short-duration building technology projects. This funding will advance the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative building technologies with the potential to reduce building energy consumption, energy costs, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As part of this initiative, a variety of research and development (R&D) projects will be supported with a maximum total cost of $750K for one- or two-year projects. Two-year projects will occur in two phases, Phase I (Year 1) and Phase II (Year 2). A decision point at the end of Phase I must be successfully completed to receive Phase II funding. All building energy projects, with the exception of solid state lighting, are eligible for submission, including water heating, building envelope, combined heat and power for buildings, sensors, fenestration, and appliances. Both technology performance improvements and technology cost reductions are of interest, and technologies should be commercialized within 5 years.

In 2010, the buildings sector accounted for 41% of total U.S. primary energy consumption and 40% of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Buildings consumed 74% of the electricity generated in the U.S., and 34% of the natural gas production. The two year initiative will award up to $6.4 million available in fiscal year 2013. Depending on the amount of each award, between 12 and 13 awards will be provided under this funding opportunity. U.S.-based applicants are eligible to apply; non-profit entities are encouraged to team with a for-profit entity to expedite the commercialization process.

The ET program partners with national laboratories, industry, and universities to advance research, development, and commercialization of energy efficient and cost effective building technologies. These partnerships help foster American ingenuity to develop cutting-edge technologies that have less than 5 years to market readiness, and contribute to the goal to reduce building energy consumption by at least 50% by the year 2030.